“I Know What Prayer Can Do” — Episode 5

Chapter 13

Grandma Clara called her son immediately after saying goodbye to her daughter-in-law.

“Eric, you messed up big time. I just spoke with Kiera and she told me that you ran off with the children.”

“Mama, I told you not to talk with her because all she’s going to do is lie to you and put stuff in your head. Why would I run off with my own children? I have equal time with them as she does.”

“Well, you did run off with them. Kiera told me you both have been separated for some months now and that you were supposed to have brought them back to her Sunday evening after having them for the weekend and you never showed up, and neither did you call her,” Clara said. “She also told me she stopped by your place and you did not answer the door because you were not there. Of course you couldn’t be there because you were on your way up here with the children. Exactly, what’s going on?”

“Look, Mama, I brought the children here to stay with you until things got straightened out between Kiera and me. Things are very unstable — ”

“I have no problem keeping my grandchildren while you two do what you need to do, but I do have a problem with how you’re going about doing it. Son, that is kidnapping.”

“They’re my children!” Eric said.

“No. They’re both your children. I just hope she didn’t call the police — yet.”

“Did she mention anything about calling them?” Eric asked.

“No, she didn’t.”

Eric sighed a sigh of relief. “Mama, I really need for you to keep them for me.”

“Where are you anyway?” his mother asked.

“I’m headed back home to take care of a few things.”

“For how long? And then what?”

“I’m not sure how long.”

“Okay,” his mother said. “One other thing: Kiera told me she’s going through with the divorce but you are using the children to force her to stay in the marriage. I’m disappointed in you, son.”

“I’m not using the children to keep her. Any good father would want to spend time with his children no matter how rough things may be between him and his wife.”

“I rest my case,” his mother said. “But I will tell you this: You try to control a person in a forceful way, you’ll never get their heart nor their affection.”

_____________

Leyton Patterson passed on the newly acquired information to Tucker Gravlin.

“I’m almost at the hotel. It’s not too far from the grandmother’s house. I’ll shower, grab a bite to eat, touch base with the police chief here in Virginia, then swing by Grandma’s. Did Kiera try calling her husband to try to get him to tell her where he and the children are — you know, just to get him to say it with his own mouth?”

“No. We told her not to call him. We’ll work with what we have and see how successful that turns out,” Patterson said. “Do you still have the house address?”

“It’s right here in my briefcase.”

“I’ll go ahead and call the police chief to let him know you’ll be there soon and give him an update. Keep me posted.”

“You betcha,” Gravlin said.

After about three hours, Gravlin and Officer Goodlee from the Richmond, Virginia, south police precinct were knocking on Clara’s front door. She was surprised to see them there so soon, even though she expected them to show up any day. Mariadas and the children were playing in the backyard.

“Yes, come on inside, officers,” she said after they stated their purpose for stopping by. “I was kind of expecting you. The children are here, as well as the lady who’s been helping to take care of them. I had no idea what was going on. My son stopped by without letting me know he was coming with the children, which he normally does not do; they’ve always called ahead whenever they visit to make sure I am home. I knew they were having marital problems, but I did not know it had escalated this much. Things did not seem right when he spoke with me and when I asked him about his wife he seemed kind of evasive so I called Kiera and she told me everything. I told my son the police are going to come searching for him because he actually kidnapped his children.”

“Where’s your son now?” Gravlin asked.

“He told me he was headed back home to take care of a few things,” Clara said. “What will happen to my grand-babies now?”

“We’ll have to take them into our care and return them to their mother,” Officer Goodlee said.

“Can they please stay here with me until you get in touch with their mother? I haven’t seen them in a while, and this is their first day here. You have my word: I won’t hide them. I learned early in life to respect the law. In fact, I’ll go call their mother right now.”

“That’s fine with us, but let me make some phone calls first. And I’ll speak with their mother first,” Gravlin said.

Gravlin placed a call to Leyton Patterson and to the chief of police in Richmond before he called Kiera.

_____________

When Eric Gilard got to his apartment the police were waiting for him. They were parked a few car lengths up and across the street from his designated parking space in front of his apartment. He looked around nervously before climbing out of his vehicle. He hurried into his apartment using the hallway entrance. Eric glanced furtively through the bedroom curtains, but saw no movement outside. He decided to catch a quick nap before taking a shower and touching base with Tony. He was awakened by rapid knocking on the door.

“Yeah, who is it?” he said stumbling to the door.

“Open up. Police.”

“What for?”

“We’re here to speak with Eric Gilard.”

Eric threw on his shirt and shoes. Picking up his keys he went into the living room where he quietly unlatched the glass sliding door, and slid the door open just enough for him to slip through. As he was pulling the door shut a pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Going somewhere, Mr. Gilard?”

Eric swung around and pushed the police officer aside. Unaware that there was a second officer, he attempted to make a dash to his car. The second officer stuck out one of his legs causing Eric to trip and pitch forward. They quickly pinned him to the ground and snapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists.

“You’re under arrest for the kidnapping of two children.”

“I don’t have them,” Eric said as the officers dragged him to his feet amidst his squirming.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” one of the officers said as they led him to the police car.

Mr. Ramadin observed from his upstairs balcony.

Chapter 14

“Great news!” Kiera said to Aubrey after she answered the phone. “My children are safe. They are in Virginia with my mother-in-law.”

“Praise the Lord!” Aubrey exclaimed. “God answers prayer. Like my mother always says, ‘I know what prayer can do’.”

“I’ve decided to drive up to get them. She says she will keep them until I get there. We just have one little problem: Mariadas Carmen, the lady who’s been taking care of them, she’s Mexican. My mother-in-law says the police used an interpreter to talk with her and she has no family. She had no idea what was going on so they let her go. She can ride back with us. I just don’t know where to go from there.”

“I’ll talk with Quintin about that. I’m sure we can help her,” Aubrey said.

Kiera received the news of her husband’s arrest with relief. “I feel sorry the marriage had to end this way.”

“When are you going to pick your children up?” Aubrey asked

“I’ll be leaving at noon on Friday, spend the weekend with my mother-in-law and return on Monday.”

Quintin delivered more good news to Aubrey later that evening as they prepared for bed. “Here you go,” he said handing her a letter. “This came into my office today.”

Recognizing the Saudi postal stamp and return address, Aubrey tore the envelope open and quickly removed its contents. She eagerly read it. “Things are looking up for the adoption of Habiba al-Ahmet. Soon I’ll have us a little girl until you begin to really perform,” she said.

“Wait a minute now. We just got married. Don’t I get time to have you to myself for a while before we are blessed with a little one?”

Aubrey giggled. “We’re not getting any younger, so time is of the essence. Anyway, you wait right here cause I’ll definitely be back. Let me go tell Mother the good news.”

Mother Jamison was now living with Aubrey and her husband after being discharged from the hospital. They had put her fully furnished house up for rent to college students.

As Aubrey snuggled up in the bed next to her husband she said, “Quintin, can we please ride up to Virginia with Kiera? I just don’t think it’s safe for her to drive up there by herself. Anything could happen to her and –“

“Who’s ‘we’?” Quintin asked with a yawn.

“Mother, myself…”

“And?”

“… and you. Please, please, please. We’d leave on Friday, go to church with her mother-in-law, and return on Monday. We could rent a van, and it won’t interfere with our schedule at all. Plus, like you’ve said, when you have your own business you can take off whenever you need to. This would be an encouragement to her; she’s been through so much,” Aubrey said .

Quintin chuckled. “I see you have this all planned out.”

“Is that a ‘yes’? We can see this as a mini-vacation, which we all need. Quintin? Quintin?”

Aubrey smiled as she kissed her husband good night.

Kiera and her children were happily reunited. Eric was charged with kidnapping; this only expedited and finalized their divorce. Mariadas Carmen was found innocent. There was a debate as to whether or not to turn her over to immigration for possible deportation.

“Please vouch for her,” Aubrey pleaded with her husband. “You’re a lawyer; you know the right words to use. She came into the country legally; she just extended her visit. By her own testimony she just wanted to settle down in America, get a job, work, earn enough money and send for her three siblings. She only wants to help her family out of poverty. Please, Quintin.”

“Where would she stay? She hardly knows any English. How would she get around?” her husband asked.

“We can talk with Pastor Ashton about letting her stay in the church’s home for women.”

“Alright, we can do that.”

“Thank you so much,” Aubrey said hugging his neck.

Chapter 15

Even though Roger was glad everything about him and Vicki was now out in the open, he was disturbed by Vicki’s last words: The next time you hear from me it will be through my lawyer.

I know I should be praying about this, but I feel funny praying to God whom I’ve played around with and ignored for so long,” he thought. But He’s the only One I see who can help me through this. Taking his father’s advice, he gave Quintin a call and explained to him his dilemma.

“Let’s make it a matter of prayer,” Quintin said. “And we can kick-start it tomorrow at Alphonse’s place where we still meet once a month for prayer. You’re still invited to join us. We’ll be by at ten to pick you up and no more excuses.”

Quintin and Kelvin picked Roger up and amidst protest and good-natured bantering got him and his wheelchair in Quintin’s car.

“Don’t you ride the hospital van to the hospital three times a week for physical therapy?” Kelvin said.

“That’s different, bro. Their vehicle is specially made for people confined to a wheelchair,” Roger replied.

“The only difference is we’re taking you to ST — spiritual therapy,” Kelvin said.

Once they got to Alphonse’s place the men had an uplifting time of prayer and fellowship around the Word of God. Roger sensed the oneness of spirit and coveted that for himself as they shared prayer requests and prayed for each other. Kelvin asked for prayer for his upcoming mission trip to Peru. “If all goes well, we’ll be leaving in the next three to four months.”

“I believe I’m ready to settle down in marriage, so please pray that I choose the right young lady,”Alphonse said.

“Pray that the adoption of Habiba will go smoothly and quickly. We don’t foresee any obstacles in the way,” Quintin said. “My wife has her heart set on bringing her into the family by Christmas.”

All four piled into Quintin’s car and despite Roger’s protests to take him home, they headed for the basketball court.

Once they got to the basketball court, his friends set him in his wheelchair on the ground. “Man, how am I supposed to do this? I can’t do this,” Roger said.

“I forgot to tell you, but all who come to our Bible study must also play basketball,” Kelvin said tossing the basketball in Roger’s lap. “You’re on my team so don’t fail me now.”

By the end of their two hour game, Roger had mastered the art of moving around in his wheelchair using one arm to maneuver himself while dribbling the ball with the other.

“A day well spent,” he said when they took him home.

“I’ve been thinking,” Kelvin said before saying goodbye, “since you’re into rebuilding cars, why don’t you work on a car where the person confined to the wheelchair can roll up a built-in ramp or some kind of electrical lift that will place the wheelchair behind the steering wheel and lock it in place. The wheelchair would replace the driver’s seat.”

Roger immediately envisioned the car. “But how will I press the pedals? My legs are numb,” Roger said.

“Easy,” Kelvin said. “Place the pedals up on the front dashboard; you can even make them into power buttons for a more fancy look. A green button to replace the gas pedal and a red button to replace the brake pedal. They lock in place until pressed again. I don’t know; you figure it out. You’re the engineer. I’m sure there’s a market out there.”

While the men were having their time of prayer, Aubrey and the ladies of the Restoration Reset Ministry were having their prayer time as well. Word had gotten around about their powerful ministry that helped in restoring and strengthening marriages and families. ‘I know what prayer can do’ became their motto.

“Don’t forget, ladies,” Aubrey reminded them, “we’ll be meeting with the ladies at Grace and Truth Fellowship. Pastor Ashton says we can use a couple of the church vans to take us there if we needed to. I wish for all of you to go. My mother will be our guest speaker so come on out and support her.”

Mariadas Carmen, who was a guest that evening at Aubrey’s house, prepared a delicious Mexican meal consisting of spicy Mexican corn chowder, broiled salmon tacos, with chocoflan for dessert.

“I may not know how to speak Spanish, but I know a good meal when I taste it. Gracias, Mariadas. Muchas gracias,” Quintin said helping himself to a second serving of the chocoflan.

“Si,” Mother Jamison said. “Mariadas, el chocoflan es delicioso.”

“Si,” Aubrey said. “Deliciosa.”

“I thank God for Mariadas,” Aubrey told her husband as they settled in their bed for the night. “I’m going to ask her about enrolling in an ESL class at the college. And I’m enrolling myself in a Spanish class.”

Kissing her husband good night, Aubrey cut the bedside lamp off. She was just falling off to sleep when the phone rang. “Hello, Kelli. Is everything alright?” she said after checking the caller ID.

“Yes and no,” Kelli replied. “Sorry to call so late, but I just returned from my father’s about an hour ago and checked my mail and there was a letter from family and children’s services saying they will be stopping by on Monday at nine o’clock. I don’t know what’s going on, but they’d called me on Thursday stating something about child neglect. I told them they had the wrong number and did not think any more about the call. But when I received this notice in the mail, my antenna went up. Pray with me that nothing will come out of this.”

“I will,” Aubrey said. “In fact, let’s pray right now.”